<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>With the Dawn by Charl_Meister94</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833135">With the Dawn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charl_Meister94/pseuds/Charl_Meister94'>Charl_Meister94</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gratuitous Smut, Light Angst, Porn with Feelings, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:49:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charl_Meister94/pseuds/Charl_Meister94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Overwhelmed by a foray of anxious thoughts since Aang's disappearance, Katara finds the only person who can call the sun from the clouds of her mind. Takes place after the episode Zuko reconciles with Uncle Iroh.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>With the Dawn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to another Zutara tale! This may be my last one. I tried to make this PwP, but that kind of thing is hard for me because I always need a good segue into the mindless sex. So there is a tiny bit of plot. I tried going for lengthy smut, but considering the plot circumstances, Zuko and Katara would definitely get caught if they went at it all night (lol). <br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko’s finger brushed over Katara’s as he passed her a warm cup of tea. She accepted it with aloof thanks, sipping the rich flavors of jasmine and honeyberry leaf, returning her attention to the mixed group of friends and masters gathered around the fire at the White Lotus camp.<br/><br/></p>
<p>There was a palpable somberness to the air; each face a mirror of quiet hope and expectancy. Their voices were low, discussion focused on the coming dawn that would bring Sozin’s comet and the manifestation of their destinies.<br/><br/></p>
<p>But in spite the tea’s sweet and soothing aroma, the easy levity Iroh brought to the conversation, Katara couldn’t relax.<br/><br/></p>
<p>The old man spoke of their coming victory in that hearty baritone, clapping Jeong-jeong’s shoulder as he boasted of opening his teashop in Ba Sing Se. Toph teased that the old man had better make her a special guest whom didn’t have to pay or wait for service. And Sokka was cracking cringe-inducing jokes with Bumi while Momo chittered at Appa, the air bison giving back a long-suffering growl. <br/><br/></p>
<p>It was hard to engage any of them with real interest when Aang wasn’t there. Everyone felt his absence, Katara knew that. Yet, they all refused to give themselves over to the crushing palm of doubt, choosing instead to siphon their foreboding into optimism and practical plans for the unspoken, but acknowledged, worst that could happen. And Katara was trying to do the same.<br/><br/></p>
<p>They believed Aang would return and not run from his destiny as he had before. Katara believed that too. She really did. Hands squeezed around her cup, she finished the rest of the tea and gasped at the sharp elbow nudging into her side.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Toph-!”<br/><br/></p>
<p>The blind earth bender was grinning up at her expectantly. She said something Katara missed and she looked to Sokka glowering at Toph, while Suki hid laughter behind her hand. So, she offered a belated laugh, lips wryly stretched, before she quietly excused herself from the group.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Her fingers stroked at the spot Zuko touched earlier. The residual warmth, its beckoning imprint, drew her towards the hut he shared with Sokka. She found him with crossed arms, one ankle over the next, waiting for her by the apple-nut tree.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Took you long enough,” he remarked, only pretending to be impatient with the time it took her to slip away from the others. “Sokka said he’ll be staying with Suki tonight,” he murmured with a subtle intonation.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara said nothing, feeling the feather-light brush of his hand at the small of her back as she entered through the thatch door. She turned to face the fire bender gently swinging the door back in place and didn’t shy away from his touch when he cupped her face. She looked up into the intense hue of gold gazing over her. He didn’t ask any questions. There was no need. The potency of his probing stare, the keen awareness that something was amiss, was enough to make her eyes water.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Then her hands were clutching at his wrists. Her chin trembled, eyes narrowing with anguish as sobs worked up her throat.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“I’m scared, Zuko.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“I know,” came his soft reply, rough thumbs quick to swipe away the tears spilling over her cheeks.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“What if Aang doesn’t come back?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>His eyes hardened with a resoluteness she wished she could feel, “He will, Katara.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>But the stony undercurrent of his voice wasn’t enough to ebb her own hysteria. It was as if their roles had been reversed and Zuko had taken on her blind optimism while she asserted his stark pessimism. Each wretched cry jerked her shoulders, “What are we going to do? Why would Aang do this? Why would he leave us?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Katara-” His voice was gentle.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“We all worked so hard. I know he’s feeling a lot of pressure, but he doesn’t get to run away this time. He said he wouldn’t.” Her cadence pitched higher with anger, eyes flashing dangerous currents of blue.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Katara-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“After everything we’ve been through together. We’ve lost so much. Aang can’t-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>Then his lips covered hers. The salt of her tears, the bitter wash of turmoil, Zuko took them within himself. Katara’s fingers grabbed at his back, digging into his tunic as she pressed herself into him and turned what began as a deep, gentle caress into a rough demand for answers. She bit into his lower lip with all the suppressed frustration building inside. Pulled his tongue into her mouth as if that would draw out the reasons for why Aang left them all without warning.<br/><br/></p>
<p>When Zuko hissed pulling away, and she tasted wet metal, she blinked at him and saw where she’d injured him. His bottom lip was red, blood pooled up from the puncture she caused and he brushed his thumb over it.<br/><br/></p>
<p>He looked at her through his lashes, mouth carrying shadows of annoyance, “I get it, Katara. You’re angry at Aang. But getting this worked up isn’t a smart idea.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Don’t tell me what’s smart, Zuko. You have no idea what I’m feeling right now.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“But I do, I get it. Sudden disappointments? Feeling like you just got pushed off a cliff’s edge with no rope in sight to save you? I know what it’s like Katara, but you have to calm down-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“I can’t calm down, Zuko! I’m worried about, Aang. Don’t you get it?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“I do, Katara, we all are. But all we can do is look ahead. If we start panicking now, then we can forget about stopping my father’s plans. We have to keep a clear head.” He took a step towards her, hands taking hold of hers and fingers threading through, pulling her close.<br/><br/></p>
<p>The comforting heat of him rippled through her from where he touched and when he lifted their intertwined fingers to his lips, each neurotic thought smoldered to ash in the soft amber of his gaze. A helpless whimper vibrated in her throat as she swayed toward him from the magnetic pull of his calming energy. Like a steady flame that had nothing but safety to offer.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Fire didn’t only destroy; it rekindled hope and suffused reassurance. And when his mouth captured hers again, the thrashing tides of her mind soon settled like a quiet stream.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Without coaxing, she molded herself to the fire bender’s lean frame, wounding her hands around his neck. The gentle sound of exchanged kisses, their shallow breaths, echoed each other in the still air of the hut.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Everything will be okay,” he whispered.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She shook her head, murmuring against his lips, “I don’t want to think anymore, Zuko.” Her palms ran down the front of his tunic, over his chest as her eyes implored him, “I don’t want to worry.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>In response, Zuko walked her back until the heel of her sheepskin boots brushed his bedroll. She followed him to the ground – eyes closed and the pressing weight of him her guide – moving back on her hands over the soft bedding.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Her legs parted as he slid between them, hands dragging her dress slow up and over her thighs. Goosebumps trailed the brush of his knuckles over her and she gasped when his hips ground against her own, the evidence of his want drawing eager butterfly pulses from her core. She arched into him, lifting her hands so he could remove the garment. It rustled to the ground and she shivered against him, breasts trembling beneath the deft caress of his fingers unraveling the bindings of her undergarments. He cupped the twin mounds, thumbs flicking over her pebbled nipples, mouth lowering to suckle the dark areolas.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara moaned, breath feathering through the thick, dark tresses of hair tickling at her chest. She cupped the back of Zuko’s head, hips rocking and stomach tightening with each pull and flick of his tongue over her breast. Her leg slid up and down, wormed its way between Zuko’s thighs to massage over the bulge of his pants. She gasped when his teeth latched around her breast, scraped and tugged.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Do that again, Zuko. Bite me,” she breathed out, offering her breasts to him, moaning when he applied pressure around her nipple again. The pleasure burned up her spine, ignited a wild burst of heat that had her hips bucking up against his in desperate need.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Zuko, I-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>He grabbed hold of her throat and looked at her, eyes smoked over in hunger that easily reflected the lust pooling in Katara’s. “I know what you want, Katara.” And when her mouth opened, his tongue thrust inside. She groaned into his mouth, hands fumbling to yank his tunic and trousers off. Her hand pushed within the loose fabric of his underwear and she cupped the strong heat of him, stroking over the thick shaft, fingers tracing the hard veins.<br/><br/></p>
<p>His mouth shifted to her throat, gasps and hoarse moans brushing over her neck as her fondling turned to the practiced rhythm over his cock that he’d taught her. She squeezed then twisted her hand, thumb massaging over his glans on the upstroke, then depressing circles at the slick head of his erection. Her free hand in his hair, she tugged his face up and kissed him.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Katara,” he groaned on a serrated breath, “yeah…just like that.” She smiled against his lips, loving the encouragements he murmured into her mouth, hips thrusting into her shifting hand. She’d learned what each gasp and grunt meant. Knew what made the fire bender tremble against her shoulder and curse hotly against her ear with every purposed touch. Though Zuko had studied her body much quicker than she had, mastering water bending caresses and mixing them with the passionate aggression of a fire bender’s intimacy, Katara had also practiced the fervent ministrations that made Zuko moan her name reverently.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Her fingers stretched beneath his penis, palm rubbing over his balls with a dizzying finesse that made him grab her hand and shudder.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Baby…I can’t-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>Her heart galloped at the name – as it always did – and Katara gasped when he bit into her neck and shoved her hand away. Eyes flashing a ravenous gold, he roughly undid the bindings at her pelvis and pushed her legs apart.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Zuko…” she breathed out, voice syrupy thick with anticipation, and reached for him. The fire bender lined himself up with her moist folds then leaned down, thrusting with wild, yet sharp precision. He cupped a hand over Katara’s throat, muting her scream dissolving into shallow moans as his hips snapped into hers over and over again.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She shivered beneath his lips scorching her name into her throat and grabbed at his back, muscles rippling as he braced his hands on either side of her head. They watched each other; the fire of his gaze sparking flames in her own. His face was so beautiful, etched the way it was in raw desire, and Katara felt herself slipping even further into a maddening love for the fire bender.<br/><br/></p>
<p>His command of her body was almost frightening, like her ability to blood bend. It was in the easy way he drew cries from deep within her belly. The deeper he sank inside her, the harder he drove into her, she gasped on glad sobs lodged in her throat. His focus was spellbinding; the intent grimace of pleasure and attentiveness shadowing his face, his open mouth that rattled out rough groans – the intervals when his eyes would squeeze shut as Katara clenched around him – the water bender drank in all of it. In the same way Zuko absorbed all her precious reactions.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She knew he was thinking how beautiful she was by the soft honey pooling into his gaze. And she thought the same, fingers brushing tenderly over the raised scar of his left eye. She leaned up when he lowered his mouth to hers. They kissed in tandem with the slow undulations of their bodies against each other.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She swallowed the sweet rush of his moans and Zuko licked decadent curses from her lips. He gripped the underside of her left thigh, raising it to his shoulder and a strangled mewl of satisfaction tumbled from her mouth.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Zuko, yes,” she panted. She tried to speak again, only managing a helpless whimper. She was coming undone with each sharp, quick thrust. He pressed flush between her thighs with every stroke and her eyes flew open when he slammed into her, grounding his hips to her pelvis. The threat of a scream worked up her throat.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Both their cheeks were a deep flush of crimson. Zuko nipped at Katara’s kiss-swollen lips and she shifted upward, pushing at him with her body. The fire bender followed her quiet demand, lifting Katara with strong arms wrapped around her waist.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She straddled him with an arm looped around his shoulder, the other lowering to grip his erection that slipped from her body. And she took him back within the snug folds of herself, soft moans exchanged between them as she started to move.<br/><br/></p>
<p>It was then that Zuko’s touch burned all over her skin; his hands and mouth caressed and tasted every inch of her that he could. From her collarbone to the space between her breasts, he licked a path of fire over her sternum that had Katara flinching and gasping. It was so good the things he did to her, submitting himself to understand the language of her body so he could draw pleasure from the most secret places inside her.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara’s fingers threaded in his hair and she kissed him with frenzied need, hips bucking faster and harder into him — fire bending motions he’d taught her. Zuko gripped her hips now, fingers bruising her dark skin, but he didn’t overtake her rhythm nor try to subdue her impassioned undulations. Rather, he followed her into the splintering release that had them flinching against each other.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara covered her own mouth when his teeth latched into the flesh just above her right breast. Both shuddered through their climax, heavy breaths colliding and arms holding tight to one other. She slumped against Zuko, warm cheek rested on his shoulder and his hands skimmed her waist to smooth up her back.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Are you okay?” he murmured and felt her nod into his neck. “I thought I hurt you when we started.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara shook her head again, fingers idly circling patterns along Zuko’s bicep. “It was perfect,” she said on a sated sigh and the fire bender chuckled low. “What’s so funny?”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Nothing. It just sounds like I outdid myself tonight.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara rolled her eyes, hearing the smug confidence dripping from Zuko’s voice. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, jackass.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>She pinched his arm and he yelped, jolting from the sharp pain. “Little too late to say that,” he teased, nudging at the water bender to turn her face to his. He smiled at her feigned petulance, kissing away her plastic pout until she was sighing against his lips with the replete feeling her gave her.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“Stay with me tonight,” he said, lips rubbing tender against her own.<br/><br/></p>
<p>“But Sokka-”<br/><br/></p>
<p>“-is spending the night with Suki, doing the same thing we just did.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>The water bender’s face scrunched with revulsion, “Thanks Zuko, I really needed that disgusting image.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>His pointed, clueless blinking got him a spiteful frown and when Katara opened her mouth, he covered it with an immediate reflex, “Don’t you dare,” he warned, knowing she’d try to give back an equally gross image that would have his semi-hard penis limp and outright dead.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Unable to hold in her laughter, she pulled his hand from her mouth and kissed him, hands squeezed tight around his neck. “I’ll stay,” she said and Zuko tucked curls of her hair behind her ear. And within the intimate stillness, they laid together, limbs entangled and adoring smiles casting gentle shadows on their faces.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Katara breathed in the restorative hope Zuko gave her. That with the new dawn, Aang would return and the war would be over. That with Zuko as the new Fire lord, unity would be reestablished among the nations and the coming era of peace would last much longer than that of the war.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She held fast to that hope and fell asleep, watching Zuko watching her.<br/><br/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p><br/>A/N: I just had a thought about the ATLA timeline and when Zuko and Katara would've started their intimate relationship. I was searching for a place to put it in the story, but I didn't want to make this work too exposition-heavy. So, in my head, the best time for their relationship to become serious and sexual is after the Southern Raiders. Katara visited Zuko's tent the night after and asked him how she could repay him for all he'd done. He told her he deserved no repayment, that her forgiveness was all he really wanted. They hug again and as they're parting, both look at each other with evident need and Katara tips up and kisses him. The rest is history lol. Hope you enjoyed!</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>